From Tuesday to Wednesday last week, more than 142 participants, largely comprised of parliamentarians from 29 countries, took part in the World Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet (WPCT) in Tokyo. This was the ninth such convention, with the first one held in New Delhi in 1994.
The convention brings together lawmakers from democratic nations around the world to discuss Tibet and how they can best spotlight its dispute with China and eventually resolve it.
The WPCT was cohosted by the Tibetan parliament in exile (the legislative wing of the Central Tibetan Administration) and the Japanese Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet.
Twelve sessions took place, including the inaugural and the closing sessions. Penpa Tsering, sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration, and other Tibetan delegations also took part in the deliberations. The participants all unanimously came out with three important resolutions: the Tokyo Declaration, the Resolution on Celebrating the Legacy of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama on his 90th Birthday and the 9th WPCT Region-Wise Action Plans on Tibet.
The resolutions tie together the essence of the convention and acknowledge the growing support for Tibet. It also touched upon the issue of Tibet’s sovereignty, which they recognize as a historically independent nation before the forceful and illegal occupation by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1950.
An entire resolution was dedicated to the 14th Dalai Lama — celebrating his legacy of compassion, nonviolence and universal ethics. There was much emphasis on his 90th birthday and this resolution consisted of six major points. One of them is the reaffirmation of “the sole and exclusive authority over the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama with His Holiness himself and with Gaden Phodrang Trust.” This indicates the significance and importance of the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, which would be clarified during the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday on July 6.
The collective resolutions also highlight the situation in Tibet and how Beijing continues to contravene the human rights of Tibetans. It also calls upon parliaments, governments and UN organizations to raise the issue of Tibet, and commended actions that have been taken, such as the 2024 Resolve Tibet Act.
When the meeting was held, there was much uproar from Beijing, with the Global Times publishing two articles on June 3 and 5 that included statements from the Chinese embassy in Japan.
It expressed strong dissatisfaction over the convention, criticized the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration, which it referred to as the “Tibetan government-in-exile,” and said that Tibet should be referred to by its Chinese name, Xizang (西藏), that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should abide by Chinese national laws and regulations, and that Tibet’s economy is booming and people’s lives are improving.
What is fascinating is how the resolutions all engage with the narratives that Beijing came out with at the Global Times.
With this back and forth between Tibet and the PRC, Beijing confirmed the significance of the ninth WPCT.
Taiwan could also host the convention, as it has an engaging Taiwan Parliamentary Group for Tibet — the 11th such group, formed on May 20 last year in Taipei. Furthermore, it would continue until the Tibet-China dispute is resolved, with the international community, including the lawmakers of democratic nations, supporting the resolution of this dispute.
Tenzing Dhamdul is a senior researcher at the Foundation for Non-Violent Alternatives in New Delhi.
Taiwanese pragmatism has long been praised when it comes to addressing Chinese attempts to erase Taiwan from the international stage. “Taipei” and the even more inaccurate and degrading “Chinese Taipei,” imposed titles required to participate in international events, are loathed by Taiwanese. That is why there was huge applause in Taiwan when Japanese public broadcaster NHK referred to the Taiwanese Olympic team as “Taiwan,” instead of “Chinese Taipei” during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. What is standard protocol for most nations — calling a national team by the name their country is commonly known by — is impossible for
India is not China, and many of its residents fear it never will be. It is hard to imagine a future in which the subcontinent’s manufacturing dominates the world, its foreign investment shapes nations’ destinies, and the challenge of its economic system forces the West to reshape its own policies and principles. However, that is, apparently, what the US administration fears. Speaking in New Delhi last week, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau warned that “we will not make the same mistakes with India that we did with China 20 years ago.” Although he claimed the recently agreed framework
The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on Wednesday last week announced it is launching investigations into 16 US trading partners, including Taiwan, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to determine whether they have engaged in unfair trade practices, such as overproduction. A day later, the agency announced a separate Section 301 investigation into 60 economies based on the implementation of measures to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labor. Several of Taiwan’s main trading rivals — including China, Japan, South Korea and the EU — also made the US’ investigation list. The announcements come
Taiwan is not invited to the table. It never has been, but this year, with the Philippines holding the ASEAN chair, the question that matters is no longer who gets formally named, it is who becomes structurally indispensable. The “one China” formula continues to do its job. It sets the outer boundary of official diplomatic speech, and no one in the region has a serious interest in openly challenging it. However, beneath the surface, something is thickening. Trade corridors, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI) cooperation, supply chains, cross-border investment: The connective tissue between Taiwan and ASEAN is quietly and methodically growing
RSS